ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Sets New 12-Month Low on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of ArcBest Co. (NASDAQ:ARCB) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $57.22 and last traded at $58.61, with a volume of 34084 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.10.

The transportation company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). ArcBest had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 4.16%. The company had revenue of $967.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

ArcBest Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. ArcBest’s payout ratio is currently 6.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ARCB. Truist Financial lowered their price target on ArcBest from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of ArcBest from $96.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of ArcBest from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of ArcBest in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on ArcBest from $109.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at ArcBest

In other ArcBest news, CFO John Matthew Beasley bought 700 shares of ArcBest stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $74.89 per share, with a total value of $52,423.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,754.38. The trade was a 9.41 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ArcBest

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARCB. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ArcBest by 146.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 298 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of ArcBest in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ArcBest by 471.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ArcBest in the first quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in ArcBest by 185.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.27% of the company’s stock.

ArcBest Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.83.

About ArcBest

ArcBest Corporation, an integrated logistics company, engages in the provision of ground, air, and ocean transportation solutions. It operates through two segments: Asset-Based and Asset-Light. The Asset-Based segment provides less-than-truckload (LTL) services, that transports general commodities, such as food, textiles, apparel, furniture, appliances, chemicals, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, plastics, metal and metal products, wood, glass, automotive parts, machinery, and miscellaneous manufactured products.